Lovers of the Good

The apostle Paul uses the phrase “lovers of the good” when writing the younger friend he mentors (2 Timothy 3:3). Today I want to invite us to take a moment to cherish and celebrate what is good. 

This last Sunday Donna Burkland, church planter and co-pastor of Safe Harbor Orange County, was ordained at City Church. At the end of our time, I went up with fellow pastors and elders to pray for her while carrying my 8-month old baby, Beckham, on my hip. As our arms were extending out praying for Donna, I took a moment to pause, watch Bekcham’s intrigue, and the congregation's earnest affirmation of this amazing woman in ministry. 

While I have been a part of inclusive and affirming churches for several years now, in that pause, I took a deep breath and realized my son is getting to see something beautiful about the love of God and the church I didn’t see as a kid. My son got to see a woman be ordained! It was an image I desperately longed for but that was unfamiliar to me as a child. In the pause, I took in this good moment. My son will not only see women ordained, but so many other folks who have been ostracized by churches and excluded from theology and ordination. What good news. 

In the work of justice, equity, and liberation, I need these pauses to cherish, remember, and rejoice. “This Sunday my son got to see a woman be ordained!” I will proclaim. ”How sweet is this Good News!” In the celebration and acknowledgment of what is good (i.e. Donna Burkland is ordained!) I find new forms of joy, grounding, and healing. 

As we press into the conversation about rest and spiritual practices, this week try finding time to practice “taking in the good.” What is something in your life that is good that you need to cherish, that might go undetected? Pause, breathe, notice, and celebrate what is good. As you “take in the good” ask God to show Godself to you more and more. Notice, see, cherish. 

--

Dottie Oleson, M.Div.